Helmand Province: Lashkargah City, Afghanistan’s version of Homeland Security, National Directorate of Security (NDS), bragged that they stopped a suicide bombing operation.  Guess what happened?  Major explosions rang out right after their claim.  A car bomb went off.  In a related incident, the mayor and a district assistant, from Garmsir District, were ambushed and assassinated by Mujahideen while they traveled to Lashkargah City.  In Nawa District, four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were killed when they drove over a landmine.  Two soldiers wounded.

Herat Province: One ANA soldier and two civilians wounded when an army vehicle ran over a landmine.

Kunar Province:  An attorney for NDS was assassinated by remote detonated bomb, as he drove to work. His body guards were wounded.

Parwan Province: Near Bagram airbase, the Investigating Fates of Prisoners Committee confirms that out of 519 cases investigated so far at least 433 Afghans have been unjustly imprisoned in the Parwan Detention Center (aka Afghanistan GITMO) by the U.S. military.  That’s an extremely high rate of illegal detentions!  The Parwan Detention Center was only recently turned over to the Afghan government by the United States.   There were more than 3-thousand people trapped inside at the time of the turnover.  Afghan courts have been releasing those prisoners where the U.S. has failed to provide documentation accusing them of a crime. This begs the question; why did the U.S. military imprison them?

“Afghan National Security Forces carried out several cleanup raids in Nangarhar, Faryab, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Ghazni provinces within the last 24 hours. As a result 26 armed Taliban were killed, two wounded and seven others were arrested by the ANSF”-Afghan Interior Ministry statement

Remember all the hate rhetoric about Osama bin Laden being responsible for creating al Qaeda, and providing them safe haven in Afghanistan?  Turns out that was BS!  So now that Osama bin Laden is dead the actual person responsible for bringing al Qaeda to Afghanistan is now running for President!  Abu Sayyaf is so influential that even an al Qaeda rebel group in the Philippines named themselves after him.  Abu Sayyaf is considered the mentor to Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, the man accused of planning the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.  So why did the U.S. have to kill Osama, and why haven’t they gone after Abu Sayyaf?

Speaking of the NDS, investigators looked into the kidnapping of a female member of parliament (remember that one?) and now accuse the woman’s brother of orchestrating the kidnapping.  I was suspicious when the family repeatedly denied the woman had been kidnapped, even though nobody could explain where she was.

Reports that a former Afghan National Army soldier was arrested in Pakistan.  He’s wanted for killing three Australian Diggers. But get this, according to the Aussie government the guy was arrested back in February!  No explanation why they waited until now to report it.

Taxpayers from dozens of U.S. led NATO member countries are spending $200-million USD to teach Afghan soldiers how to read, this while NATO member countries slash and burn their own education funding!

The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) is warning that a new program could waste another $1-billion in U.S. tax money.  The wise U.S. leaders are planning to give the Afghan National Police (ANP) unlimited U.S. tax dollars so the ANP can buy fuel, without oversight: “The ANP fuel program….remains at high risk of loss, theft, or misuse of U.S. funds and purchased fuel and, if not improved, may increasingly place large amounts of U.S. funds at risk of fraud, waste, and abuse.”-John Sopko, SIGAR

The Afghan Mines and Petroleum Ministry estimates that Afghanistan’s mineral resources, including oil, are worth about $1 trillion.  However, one analyst has a warning: “The sector, as a whole, is operating in a very uncontrolled way. There’s no oversight.”-Stephen Carter, Global Witness

In a now typical hypocritical move, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that would allow Iraqis who worked for the U.S. government to extend their visas.  This after the U.S. State Department began reneging on visas issued to Afghans who work for the U.S. government.

Tajikistan has allowed Russia to station more troops on their border with Afghanistan.  Also, Russia has promised to increase military weaponry to Tajikistan.  Russian and Tajik officials admit their military buildup is in preparation for the supposed 2014 U.S.-NATO pullout.  The renewed Russian-Tajik military pact is in effect until 2042!